How to Price Your Art (From an Artist Who Actually Sells It)

3 June 2026  ·  7 min read

I am a degree-qualified artist with twenty-six years behind me, and I sell to people who buy original art to keep - collectors who are adding to something. So my prices reflect my skill, my experience, and my market. Not a formula. Not what someone would pay for a print at a market stall.

Forget materials-plus-hours. It prices you as labour and it keeps you poor. Here is how I actually think about it.

Price to your market - and decide who that is first

You might be genuinely skilled even as a beginner; skill belongs in the equation no matter how long you have been at it. Someone can paint for fifteen years and still be a bad artist. So the real question is: who do you want to sell to?

Here is a test I use. What do you earn per hour in your everyday job? Do not charge less per hour than that for your art. To create something from nothing is a miracle - and yet it is the one thing people take for granted and expect for cheap. Charge what you are worth, not what something costs on Temu.

How I price

I charge by size. These days I earn around $500 an hour for my work, and a rate like that comes with authority. For years my materials cost me nothing - they were donated - so materials were never the basis of my price. My worth was. So my question to you is: what do you think you are worth?

If your work is not selling, it is not always the price

The art market is tiny. The entire global art market - galleries, dealers and auctions combined - is around $60 billion a year. The world spends roughly $190 billion a year on tomatoes. The thing you have devoted your life to is a third the size of the tomato trade, and only a small fraction of artists ever earn a full-time living from their work. Just because a shop in a mall is open does not mean it sells all its stock. The answer is to market to who your art is for - not to drop your price for the bargain hunter.

Is it bad to price too low?

Yes. It tells the market your work is disposable and it attracts exactly the buyer who treats it that way - while repelling the collector who would have valued it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I price my art if I'm just starting out?
Price to your market - and remember your skill counts even if you are new. Someone can be an artist for fifteen years and still be a bad one, so skill, not just time, belongs in the equation. Ask who you want to sell to. And here is a rule: work out what you earn per hour at your everyday job, and never charge less than that for your art. Creating something from nothing is a miracle that gets taken for granted. Charge what you are worth, not Temu prices.

Should I price my art by size, by the hour, or by materials?
I charge by size. I earn around $500 an hour for my art these days, and a rate like that carries authority. For years my materials were donated, so they cost me nothing - which is exactly why materials are not the basis of a price. Your worth is. So the real question is: what do you think you are worth?

Why isn't my art selling - is it priced wrong?
Not necessarily. The art market is genuinely small - about $60 billion a year globally, while the world spends around $190 billion a year on tomatoes. Only a small fraction of artists ever make a full-time living. Just because a store in a mall is open doesn't mean it sells all its stock. Market to who your art is actually for, instead of pricing it lowest for the bargain hunter.

Is it bad to price my art too low?
Yes, it is. A low price signals your work is disposable and pulls in the buyer who will treat it that way - while repelling the collector who would have valued it.

How do I price a commission?
Because I have done this so long, I know exactly how long a piece takes me. I offer a standard size and that is it - this is my style, this is the price, and I do not budge on either. I take a 50 percent non-refundable deposit and the balance is paid before the original is sent. As an example: a 120cm x 120cm work, framed and delivered within Australia, is $3,500. Too many artists practically beg for the sale, and customers abuse that. You do not barter a burger at KFC - so do not let anyone barter your art. Hold your boundaries.

Solene Haus

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